Where to Start

When you start blogging again it is hard to decide do I start from where I left off, or do I start fresh. I think I will start fresh and throw catch up posts every now and again.
Life is crazy as it is for everyone. It never stops and it only gets busier. We have had one awesome school year with lots of events in between.

MaKaya started competing with her dance team last year. She fell madly in love with dancing and progressed quite quickly. This year she decided she wanted to compete a solo. We hired a teacher to choreograph and teach MaKaya her dance. There was a lot of blood sweat and tears that went into this solo. The first time she competed she did awesome. She was very first and she rocked the house. We made sure to watch her 7 components, my mom and I were very confident she had it in the bag!!! Awards began, they announced MaKayas division, 5th place goes to MaKaya Kearns. I am certain my jaw dropped to the ground. I was shocked, MaKaya was heart broken. She walked to get her award came back and burst into tears. It was hard for me to keep my composure I was dying inside. I'm one of those moms that can admit when her kid isn't the best, but this time she was the best and I was more than surprised that she placed so low. Instead of getting down in the dumps we took our discouragement and turned it into determination. MaKaya took her judging sheets and worked on all the areas they told her to. She practiced every single day multiple times. I had a number of different people look at her dance to help clean it up. We were on a mission and no one was going to stop us.

The next competition came up and we were ready. Once again she did amazing and we stayed to watch her 5 components. We both felt great about her performance but didn't get our hopes up too high. The memories of the last competition were still fresh on our minds. When awards began and MaKayas division was called my heart was literally beating out of my chest. 4th place was called, then 3rd, then 2nd, then 1st and oh my gosh Queen was called MaKaya Kearns. She won she won she won!!! I couldn't hold back the emotion this time. She was so ecstatic. She couldn't stop smiling and neither could I. What a sweet adventure to go from last place to first. We were all on cloud nine. The next time she competed her solo she took Queen again. I hope MaKaya always remembers that with hard work and determination anything is possible!

Halloween Fun!

Halloween was a lot of work this year. Maybe Halloween is always alot of work and I just forget. Glad I don't have to put makeup on myself and 3 others everyday.

I haven't mentioned for a while that I really love my neighborhood. We really love getting together and don't do it enough. So I decided to have a little shindig. It was really low key but lots of fun. The kids and adults all had a good time.

I decided that this year we were going to dress up with a theme. We were all Supers. Lexi wasn't too sure about being a Super but in the end she liked it. It was really fun. I now want to have a theme every year.

Searching for the right Pumpkin

Whats Halloween without a pumpkin patch. I love love love pumpkins. I'm not quite sure why I love them so much. Almost all of my Halloween decor is pumpkins. I thoroughly enjoy walking around a pumpkin patch searching for the perfect pumpkin. This year we went to a patch in Lake Shore and they had the best pumpkins ever. They were the prettiest color of orange and ranged from all shapes and sizes. It was the perfect fall weather for pumpkin hunting.

I LOVE being a Witch

Instead of playing Bunco this month we decided to have a Witches party. It was fun seeing everyones attire. I really do have great friends!

Baby is ONE!

This is what I looked like many times a day
His Cake that he never ate

He was still happy even though he was sick

He loved this card, it plays music when you open it

He got this outfit a week later from Steph. He thought he looked so cute. I love him!

I know every mom says it, but how did this year go by soooo fast. My baby is 1 and it kindof makes me sad. He has been such a blessing in my life. He brings me so much happiness and joy pure and utter joy. He is so happy all the time and has each member of our family smitten. He is sweet as can be.

My poor little guy has had a run with sickness. First he had hand mouth and foot. None of my kids have ever had this and man it is a bad one. He had all these sores in his mouth that made eating and drinking so painful. He had a fever of 102 and was throwing up and had diarrhea. After that was over he got little blisters on his fingers. This lasted 10 days. We were healthy for less than a week and then the stomach flu hit. He literally threw up and had diarrhea for 8 days. I have never seen anyone be so sick. It was starting to scare me. I was so afraid he was going to die. My Dr. told me that the only reason he was not in the hospital was because I was still breastfeeding. Breast milk is easier to absorb and digest. He lost 2 lbs. He was even sick on his birfday and didn't get to eat any cake. Sad.

Finally he is better and is eating everything in sight. This boy can eat. He can eat a whole bowl of oatmeal and entire PB&J sandwich. He can out eat Savanna and MaKaya. If I am not careful he will stuff the entire sandwich in his mouth. When he sees food and wants to eat he says mmmm mmmm mmmm. He does this all the time. He always wants to eat. Maybe he is making up for lost time. He crawls all over the place and plays so good with his toys. He loves his blankie. He loves to sit and ride on his dads riding lawn mowers. Big tears are shed when he has to get off. I never knew how much I would love having a little boy. He is so fantastic it really makes me want to have another one. Help me please!!!

He is 60% in weight

He is off the charts for height

He is off the charts for head

Lexi turns 10!

My life was changed forever the day Lexi was born. I didn't know that I could love someone so much. I looked at everyone different because I realized that they were somebodies baby. I started to understand my own mom better. She loved me the same way that I loved Lexi. I cried, more like sobbed in my hospital room thinking about having to leave her in 8 weeks to go back to work. In just a few short hours I had fallen deeply in love with this black haired baby girl and I never wanted to let her go.

10 years have gone by, and not many things have changed. I love her more today than I did 10 years ago. My heart strings are tugged daily by other peoples misfortunes. My mom is the most fabulous mother/grandmother in the whole wide world. Lexi and her are very close. I still hate it when Lexi leaves. She is very dear to my heart.

One thing that I have loved watching is Lexi with Crew. For the first time in her life she has experienced what it feels like to love and take care of someone else. She is so good to him. You can see the joy in her face when she sees him. She is so responsible for someone so young. I can always count on her to help out with him. She really really loves him, and he loves her right back. A few months ago we were leaving the girls dance recital, it was dark Lexi was holding Crew and she tripped on the curb and fell flat on the sidewalk. She landed on her arms and braced the fall with her knees to avoid Crew from hitting the sidewalk. She was so scared and felt so bad. Her heart was torn to think she might have hurt him. She had scrapes and bruises but Crew had not a scratch. She put herself in danger to avoid Crew from being hurt. She is learning what it feels like to sacrifice for someone else.

I love spending time with her. She understands things way beyond her years. She can sense when she is needed even before she is asked. She is so kind to everyone. She looks out for the underdog. I am so very lucky to have her as my own. She is priceless!

For her birthday party we had a spa.

The girls did facials had their nails painted and made bracelets. We had lots of yummy food to eat and a chocolate fountain to enjoy. It was a really fun day.

First Day of School

MaKaya changed her first day of school outfit 13 times.

Had to have a picture of baby.

Oh my gosh they look grown up

So Pretty

Boo loves her sparkly pants

Oh how I dread this day. All summer long it haunts me. I really love having my kids home. I love taking them places, we really have a lot of fun together. Yes there are days that they drive me crazy but for the most part we have a lot of fun. The Friday before school started I had my emotional break down. I was stopped on the freeway for over an over. I just started crying and couldn't get a hold of myself. I was kind of a Debbie Downer all day long. I couldn't figure out what my problem was. Then it hit me.... I was deeply broken hearted that my kids would be returning to school. Our fun carefree sleep in days were over. I was not ready for a schedule and real life to begin. I want my kids around me.

I don't know what to do with myself while they are gone. Crew takes a long nap in the afternoon. I haven't figured out what to do with my time. I read Mockingjay yesterday. It takes me a while to get in my new groove. Change always takes some adjustment.

Lexi is in 4th grade. She is so grown-up. Everyone thinks she is in 6th grade. She is as tall or taller than them. She is going to be able to wear my shoes within the year. She is still such a sweet girl. She is so nice to everyone. She melts my heart.

MaKaya is in 2nd grade. She can now see over the counter in the school office. She has finally grown out of her size 6 pants. She is so excited to get dressed everyday. What outfit should she choose? She has a very tender heart. She radiates happiness. She brings me Joy!!!

Savanna gets to go to Miss Julie. She is our most favorite pre-school teacher. She really is the bomb.com! They have all agreed that she is the very best! Boo is really tall for her age. The size 6 that MaKaya just grew out of Boo can wear. She has more energy than any girl I know, one of her best friends is a boy. She loves loves loves to play with Crew and can be super sweet... when she wants to. She is super animated when she talks. I love watching her tell a story. She makes me laugh, a lot.

Can you see why its hard for me to let my girlies go. They are such a huge part of who I am. I guess that is why I keep having more. I just love it way too much!

When I dropped them off at school Sadie our dog started crying. So was I.